New ladder truck commissioned for Tupelo Fire Department

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Tupelo officially inaugurated its new ladder truck for the fire department.

Tuesday afternoon, the old “Truck One” was officially replaced by the new, state of the art, “Truck One” at a ceremony in the parking lot of Tupelo City Hall.

Firefighters climbed ladders from both trucks, passing a US flag from one truck to the other one. The flag was later presented to Mayor Jason Shelton.

The new truck has a platform at the end of the 100 foot ladder, making it safer for firefighters, with more safety features than the old truck.

“Back in 1998 when old Truck One was purchased it was a state of the art truck, it has a 1,500 gallon a minute pump, the new truck has a 2,000  gallon a minute pump, pump 500 more gallons a minute, carries 470 gallons of water and 30 gallons of foam for a total of 500 gallons, comfortably seats six firefighters and has latest state of the art equipment on it,” said Tupelo Fire Department Chief Thomas Walker

The new truck will be stationed at Fire Station Number One.

The truck has a lifespan of 20 years.